This time of year, the birds of prey are abundant...I've seen my first bald eagle in this area recently, and the other day a hawk swooped up from the ground just a few feet from my car as I whipped by...it had been feeding on a carcass I'm sure...so the other day I took a drive out in the grasslands (farmland) to have a look and to soak up some rays.....
My best shot of the day came first, of this rough-legged hawk...I saw several RL hawks as it turned out...they are only seen in S Dakota during winter or migration and do not breed here...
I'm pretty sure this is a golden eagle..it was a good distance and it was big...same general area I'd seen the golden eagle last year...
I came around a bend in the winding gravel road and found three RL hawks on the road...they flew off to a nearby dead tree as I neared...they were reluctant to leave the area so I wonder what they were so fired up about...probably a fresh kill...
Yesterday and today the weather has been unseasonably warm, 50+ F / 15 - ish C ...right now the therm. on the porch says 60...! Feels like late Sept. weather. Still have patches of snow from the last snowfall but it's wonderful to be able to sit out on the porch and read, soak some rays up, and it's almost mid Dec.!
So it's you who have stolen our winter warmth - its been unusally cold here this December!
ReplyDeleteVery impresseive raptor counts today Jann.
Is it toasty in the higher Hills today? It has only gotten to 19 down here in the lower country, freezing!
ReplyDeleteLove those fierce eyed raptors.
Nice to see you catching up with the Rough-legged and in temperatures that we would die for at the moment. Getting colder by the day with more snow expected towards the end of the week.
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